2025 Conference Schedule and Speakers
9:00 AM
Opening Ceremonies
Priscilla Colón
Conference Director
Founder, Casa Areyto
Co-chair, Ad-hoc Group 1, IDIL 2022-2032
Kasíke-Tekína Ra Jikotea Niaku'no
Co-founder, Wuru Taíno Tekiro'uo
Dr. Gladys Yacely Aponte
Co-founder, Wuru Taíno Tekiro'uo
Akutu Irka Mateo
Sacred Taíno Healing
Bejíke Miguel Sagué, Jr.
Caney Indigenous Spiritual Circle
Jaco Du Toit
Head of UNESCO Office in Kathmandu & Representative to Nepal
Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13)
Chairman, Congressional Hispanic Caucus
Evelyn DeJesus
Executive Vice President, American Federation of Teachers
Ludmila Golovine
President & CEO, MasterWord Services
10:00 AM
Keynote Presentation:
Celestial Calendar at Tibes Utilized in Support of Social Scheduling
Dr. Shaun Sullivan
President, Anthropological Research Council
10:20 AM
Video Break
Echoes of Our Ancestors
Astrid Justiniano
Director & Editor
Lysaidie Díaz Rosa
Actress
My Ancestors in My Studio: Researching My Taíno Roots
Dr. Leslie C. Sotomayor II
Assistant Professor of Art Education & FDI Scholar, Kutztown University
10:30 AM
Session 2:
Honoring Language and Culture in Education: A Path to Empowerment
Evelyn DeJesus
Executive Vice President, American Federation of Teachers
Víctor Bonilla Santos
Vice President, American Federation of Teachers
President, Asociación de Maestros de Puerto Rico
10:50 AM
Session 3:
Kamishibai y narración de cuentos taínos integrando el lenguaje de señas
María Teresa Marichal Lugo
Emmy Award-winning Actress and Storyteller
Yarett Piñeiro
Founder, Advancement in Sign Language Education & Services CSP
11:10 AM
Session 4:
Profundizando las prácticas STEM en Puerto Rico por la ecolingüística taína
Jeffrey Herlihy-Mera
Professor of Humanities, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez
Miosotis Acevedo
Graduate Student & Research Assistant, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez
11:30 AM
Session 5:
We Are Connected: Exploring Healthcare Challenges Among Taíno and Other Indigenous Peoples
Dr. Joseph Rosado, MD
Author, Speaker & Physician
11:50 AM
Video Break
What Makes Us Human
Victor Santos
Children's Book Author & Linguist
Official book of the United Nation's International Decade of Indigenous Languages
12:00 PM
Lunch & Video Break
Sacred Taíno Song Keepers
Akutu Irka Mateo
Sacred Taíno Healing
Diez Hura
Coordinator & Teacher, Sacred Taíno Song Keepers
Ho’okupu: A Hip Hop Anthology of Hawaiian History
Maile Naehu "Queen Maile"
Co-Founder, Ka Hale Hoaka School of Hawaiian Knowledge
Hebeyo'no (The Ancestors)
al colibrí
Poet, Scholar & AI ethics Professor, Queen’s University
12:30 PM
Session 6:
Lingo Bingo and the Indigenous Wisdom of Interconnection
Thomas Gallagher
Interdisciplinary Artist
12:50 PM
Session 7:
Animando el taíno como lengua diaspórica
Dr. John Villavicencio
Assistant Professor, College of Business Administration, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez
Vanesa del Pilar Segura Sánchez
Licensed Social Worker & Graduate Student, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez
1:10 PM
Session 8:
Language Transmission and Revitalization in the Home
Misael Itzep
Mayan K’iche’ Interpreter,
MasterWord
1:30 PM
Session 9:
Decolonizing Our Language Mindset Within Taíno Language Revitalization Work
Kasíke-Tekína Ra Jikotea Niaku'no
Co-Founder, Wuru Taíno Tekiro’uo
Dr. Gladys Yacely Aponte
Co-Founder, Wuru Taíno Tekiro’uo
1:40 PM
Video Break
“Tainonaíki for Beginners” Digital Course
Priscilla Colón
Conference Director
Founder, Casa Areyto
Co-chair, Ad-hoc Group 1, IDIL 2022-2032
Jennifer Weston
Executive Director, 7000 Languages
Kiwari Taino Itai (Queer Taíno Family)
Diez Hura
Founder, Kiwari Taino Itai
1:55 PM
Session 10:
He alo a he alo: Reestablishing Connections Through Indigenous Cultural Exchange
Noʻel Kaʻiako Tagab-Cruz
Associate Professor of Hawaiian Studies and Coordinator of I Ola Hāloa Center for Hawaiʻi Life Styles, Hawaiʻi Community College
Hauʻoli Viritua
Nauane Program Coordinator of I Ola Hāloa Center for Hawaiʻi Life Styles, Hawaiʻi Community College
Drew Kapp
Assistant Professor of Geography and Department Chair of Social Science and Public Services, Hawaiʻi Community College
2:20 PM
Session 11:
El batey de los 5 elementos
Justino Narváez
Community Educator
Manuel José Martínez
Architect
2:40 PM
Closing Ceremony
Kasíke Jorge Baracutay Estévez
Higuayagua Taíno of the Caribbean
Dr. José Barreiro
Elder, Nación Taína & Smithsonian Institution Scholar-Emeritus
Priscilla Colón
Conference Director
Founder, Casa Areyto
Co-chair, Ad-hoc Group 1, IDIL 2022-2032
Kasíke-Tekína Ra Jikotea Niaku'no
Co-founder, Wuru Taíno Tekiro'uo
Dr. Gladys Yacely Aponte
Co-founder, Wuru Taíno Tekiro'uo
